(pages 133-135)

”There She Blows!”

This is the traditional cry of the whaling men,who are among the hardiest of those who go down to the sea in ships. Margarine, perfume, leather and glycerin are important by-products of whales, which are this a link with modern civilization. The article is by Lieut.-Com. E. Keble Chatterton. There is a chapter on Pelagic Whaling in part 45.

(pages 151-156)

Despite challenges to its supremacy from aircraft and submarines, the battleship continues to stand high in world-naval opinion, which still regards it as the central unit of the modern fleet. This is the second article in the series The Navy Goes to Work and was written by Hector Bywater.

(pages 157-161)

This British Pathe newsreel clip “His Majesty in Command” shows the battle manoeuvres which followed the Naval Review of 1935.

This chapter describes the main features of the powerful and sensitive equipment that keeps the vessel in constant touch with other ships and with the shore. The article was written by P. R. Bird.

(pages 136-140)

(Right) A wireless station is concealed in the dummy forward funnel of the Cunard White Star Liner Georgic. This ship is one of the largest motor vessels in the world, with a gross tonnage of 27,759. The lead-in cables from the main aerial can be seen in the upper right-hand corner of the picture. Above the funnel is the screened fixed-loop aerial for the direction-finder installed in the wireless cabin beneath. Port-holes provided in the funnel casing can be seen in the photograph.

Famous Ships

The photogravure supplement in this issue complemented the article on the Empress of Britain with four fine ship portraits.

(pages 147-150)

RMS Empress of Britain

A magnificent study of the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Britain. This fine vessel of 42,348 gross tonnage was launched by HRH the Prince of Wales on June 11 1930. After the launch the vessel was towed to the fitting-out basin, where the completion proceeded swiftly. The vessel left the fitting-out basin in April 1931, and the entire construction and equipment of the Empress of Britain took fewer than two and a half years. In 1934 the ship made a record voyage from Quebec to Cherbourg in four days six hours fifty-eight minutes.

The Mauretania

Former Queen of the Ocean, RMS Mauretania, of the Cunard White Star Line. This world-famous ship of 30,695 gross tons, built in 1907, held the record for twenty years for the fastest Atlantic passage. In 1909 she accomplished the crossing from Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland, in four days ten hours forty-one minutes. The record was taken from the great ship in 1929 by the German liner Bremen. The Mauretania, scrapped in 1935, could carry 520 first-class, 434 tourist class and 625 third-class passengers.

Outstanding as an engineering achievement and for the beauty of her lines, the Canadian Pacific Fleet’s flagship which links Great Britain with Canada is one of the finest modern luxury liners. Launched in 1930, the Empress of Britain, with a gross tonnage of 42,348, crossed the Atlantic from Quebec to Cherbourg in four days six hours and fifty-eight minutes, a splendid performance, and one of the fastest west to east runs on record. This is the third article in the series The World’s Largest Ships, and it was written by F. E. Dean.

(pages 141-146)

This British Pathe newsreel clip shows the Empress of Britain at sea (1931).

The Majestic

One of the largest ships afloat, the Majestic, owned by the Cunard White Star Line. This quadruple-screw vessel has a gross tonnage of 56,599, and a normal speed of 24 knots. Her length is 954 feet, breadth 100 feet, and depth from keel to boat deck 102 feet. Propulsion is by geared turbines, supplied from boilers fired by oil fuel. Her passenger capacity is 860 first-class, 676 tourist class and 626 third-class.

This British Pathe newsreel clip “The World’s Greatest Liner” shows the Majestic (previously called the Bismarck) leaving Germany for England to join the White Star Line.

The Terra Nova

In an icefield, a superb illustration of the celebrated whaler Terra Nova. This vessel, built at Dundee in 1884, and registered at St John’s Newfoundland, has a gross tonnage of 764, a length of 187 feet, a breadth of 31.4 feet, and a depth of 19 feet. She was sent out as a relief ship to Scott’s Antarctic Expedition in 1904.

This British Pathe newsreel clip “The Return of the Terra Nova” shows the ship after her return to Cardiff in 1912-13.

As the outcome of a period of intense development in the British coastal trade in recent years new ships of all kinds have been built. The British Coast, is one of a special class. She was built for the Coast Lines seaway, between London and Liverpool, and makes calls at intermediate ports such as Southampton, Plymouth and Falmouth. Built by Henry Robb & Co, of Leith, she is a fast vessel. (Gross tonnage 889.) Cargo can be handled quickly, and she has comfortable accommodation for twelve passengers. This is the third article in the series on Merchant Ship Types.

(page 161)

The Leonardo da Vinci, a £2,000,000 Italian battleship, blew up in the Bay of Taranto in 1916, turned turtle and sank, with a loss of 250 lives, in 36 feet of water. The recovery of the Leonardo da Vinci is a notable example of the salvage engineer’s skill. You can read more about this salvage in chapter VII of David Masters’ book The Wonders of Salvage.

This is the second article in the series Dramas of Salvage and was written by David Masters. The article concludes in part 6.